Waiting
by thequeenofokay
Summary: Jo tried to leave it all behind. She said she wouldn't wait for him. She never found out what happened to him, and now she's not sure if she wants to know.


**Title: **Waiting  
**Author:** thequeenofokay  
**Fandom:** Eureka  
**Summary****:** Jo tried to leave it all behind. She said she wouldn't wait for him. She never found out what happened to him, and now she's not sure if she wants to know.  
**Characters: **Jo Lupo, Jack Carter, Zane Donovan (mentioned only)  
**Pairings: **Zane/Jo, Jack/Allison**  
Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:** Spoilers for up to One Giant Leap. Possibly slightly off on some details.  
**Wordcount:** 759  
**Other: **Currently oneshot, and it'll probably stay that way.**  
Disclaimer:** Rather unfortunately, I don't own Eureka, or any of the characters. If I did, it wouldn't be ending at series 5.

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**Waiting**

Jo sat alone in her hotel room, staring at her feet. Miles from Eureka, now. She'd been gone a few months. So far, she hadn't found what she looking for. In fact, leaving Eureka hadn't helped her find herself at all. She was more lost than ever. Leaving Eureka had only opened up more holes. She's talked to a thousand strangers. Travelled across the country. So far, nothing had even begun to help her understand herself.

As she moved to the window, she knew, a long way out there, was the Astreus. Up there on Titan. She hadn't spoken to Carter, or anyone else in Eureka, since she'd left.

She was homesick. She might as well admit it to herself. She felt terribly homesick, but she couldn't go back there. Even if, deep down, she knew what was missing. What could fill those gaps in her life. Eureka, where she belonged. Zoe and Carter, who were like family to her. And Zane. Up there on Titan. Maybe he thought of her as much as she found herself thinking of him. She couldn't stop herself. She saw him in everything. _Zane would have liked this place. Zane had a shirt like that. We had a dinner like this once._ It wouldn't go away. She missed him. She _was _waiting for him. How could she have ever thought she wouldn't?

As she stood up, walking slowly towards the door, thinking to head back downstairs, the phone began to ring. She stopped dead. In all the months since she'd left Eureka, nobody had called her. They wouldn't have known where to call - she'd left her mobile in the room of a motel only a week after leaving. Since then, she'd never really stopped in one place for more than a week. Not long enough for anyone to have called her. She hesitantly sat down on her bed and picked up the phone from the little bedside cabinet.

"Hello?"

"Jo!" It was Carter. She hadn't known what to expect, but the know of tension in her stomach loosened a little once she knew it was him.

"Yeah?" she began. "Hi Carter."

"Jo... how are you?" he asked.

"I'm... I'm fine," Jo said. She was beginning to feel this was more than just a call to see how she was. There was something wrong. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... I don't quite know how to tell you..." he said. So something was wrong. Horrible scenarios filled Jo's head. Had something happened to Zoe? Was something wrong in Eureka? Or was it... had something happened to the Astreus?

"Carter? What's happened?" she asked, dreading his answer. For a while, there was only silence, until Jo began to wonder if he was still there. "Carter?"

"I'm really sorry Jo," he said. "We tried to contact you sooner. The Astreus was lost."

It was like someone had punched her in the stomach. A part of her had expected it, maybe, but it was like she was being gutted. It couldn't be true. The Astreus couldn't be gone. Zane couldn't be gone. "What happened?" she managed to choke.

"Someone outside of Eureka was controlling it. The countdown was speeded up, the coordinates changed." He went silent again, for a moment, and Jo didn't say anything. "We haven't been able to contact them." More silence. "Allison was still on board when it took off."

"Oh... oh God," Jo breathed. "I'm... I'm so sorry." She was starting to process it now. half the people she loved were gone. The rest were without the ones they held most dear.

"We don't know they're dead," Carter said, like he was trying to comfort himself as well as Jo. She wasn't sure if he believed his own words.

"No," she agreed quietly. She stared at the grimy window, wishing she'd said something more to Zane before he'd gone. It was like the feeling she'd had after they'd been thrust into this timeline in the first place. After she hadn't said yes to his proposal. It might not have made any difference at all, but it would have made her feel so much better. Even if he'd still gone, was still lost in that ship, at least it would be knowing that she would be waiting for him if he ever managed to make it home.

"Carter," she began, breathing out slowly. She was ready, now, to fill those holes. She knew where she belonged. "Carter, I'm going to come back to Eureka." If Zane did come home, she _would _be waiting for him.

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**Hope you liked it, and that it was accurate in terms of what happened in series 4. It is quite short, I know. Reviews always welcome and loved. =)**


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